(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moisture separator that separates condensed water mist contained in compressed air, and an air cycle system provided with the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In order to separate moisture mist of minute particles existing in compressed air, an inertial filter utilizing cyclone, a swirl tube, and the like, a chevron demister, or a wire mesh pad demister may be used.
The inertial filter condenses and separates moisture in the air using a centrifugal force generated from a cyclone or a swirl vane, and generally used when a fluid flows with high-pressure and high-speed while causing a relatively large amount of pressure loss. The chevron demister condenses moisture while passing air by layering a plurality of vanes that are bent several times with a constant angle and separate the condensed moisture using gravity, but micro particle sized mist cannot be filtered. In case of the wire mesh pad demister, micro particle can be collected with a small pressure different at a low speed flow, but micro mist of 0.5 μm or less cannot be collected.
Further, in a conventional air cycle system, a coalescer is provided at a front end of an inertial filter to condense mist in the air and then the condensed mist is passed through the inertial filter such that efficiency of the filter can be increased. However, in this case also has a problem of causing a loss of pressure and micro particle moisture mist cannot be effectively filtered at low pressure condition.
Meanwhile, an air cycle system adopting a system mechanism which called a reverse baryton cycle refers to a system that enables heat exchange between compressed air and outside air to decrease a temperature of the compressed air and cooling effect can be acquired by expanding the temperature-decreased compressed air through an expansion turbine.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.